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Downtown BK’s Historic Offerman Building At Last Gets New Life Via TJ Maxx

Downtown BK’s Historic Offerman Building At Last Gets New Life Via TJ Maxx

By on February 7, 2012 8:01 pm in Brooklyn History, Commercial Real Estate, Development, Downtown Brooklyn, Landmark Preservation, Shopping, Streets

The beautifully historic but long-suffering Romanesque revival Offerman Building along Fulton Street Mall is at last getting the facelift it so deserves. As H&M continues its new-construction two-story glass modernist build-out next door, TJ Maxx will open a downtown Brooklyn store at 505 Fulton Street, according to signage that appeared within the last week.

Imagine Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and Giorgio Armani having presence on Fulton Street (albeit last season). This long-promised renaissance may well take hold, after all, Continue Reading →

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214/216 Hicks Street Carves Out Space For Larger Tenant

214/216 Hicks Street Carves Out Space For Larger Tenant

By on February 7, 2012 2:24 pm in Brooklyn Heights, Commercial Real Estate, Development, Shopping

The two narrow retail spaces at 214 and 216 Hicks Street—which housed the recently closed Overtures and Dara Ettinger—have been demolished inside to carve out a single larger space.

A manager at next door neighbor Heights Cafe at 84 Montague Street—which owns the retail building—tells BHB that no one has yet leased the space, but it is believed that the additional square footage will attract more potential vendors. Continue Reading →

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Open Thread: Compare & Contrast 75 Clinton & 101 Clinton

Open Thread: Compare & Contrast 75 Clinton & 101 Clinton

By on February 3, 2012 8:40 am in Architecture, Brooklyn Heights, Development

In the BHB post a week ago about the new 80-unit building at 75 Clinton Street & Montague (on right) going rental, a healthy debate blossomed here between the architectural charms of its facade versus the new 40-unit residential building one block down at 101 Clinton Street & Joralemon (left). You guys took each building to task, with typical opinionated passion.

So let’s put up your dukes, BHB followers. We invite a full-on discussion about the merits—or not—of each property. Continue Reading →

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75 Clinton Street Nixes Condo Sales; Goes After “Booming” Rental Market

By on January 27, 2012 10:48 am in Architecture, Brooklyn Heights, Development, Real Estate

The gruesomely unattractive condo conversion at 75 Clinton and Montague streets (above Rite Aid) has scrubbed plans to sell the saltine box’s 74 units, instead vying to go rental. The building’s new owner, Dallas-based investment firm Invesco, will bring the project to market early next month, according to Crain’s.

Good luck: Prices range from $2,800 to $7,000 a month. Continue Reading →

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Baluchi’s Indian Restaurant Cooking On Henry Street

Baluchi’s Indian Restaurant Cooking On Henry Street

By on January 25, 2012 2:57 pm in Development, Food

And that makes three. Baluchi’s Indian restaurant is preparing to open its 10th NYC location, in Brooklyn Heights, at the north end of Henry Street near Cranberry Street.

McBrooklyn shares that it joins Gandhi Palace on Montague (which replaced Amin) and Curry Heights on Remsen. Continue Reading →

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Will Someone Buy the Heights Cinema Building to Preserve It?

By on January 23, 2012 11:38 pm in Architecture, Development, Landmark Preservation, movies

Kate Briquelet’s Brooklyn Paper story quotes Brooklyn Heights Cinema owner Kenn Lowy as saying he has “received e-mails from people interested in buying the building.”

The Brooklyn Paper: “There are a lot of people who want to keep it around,” said Lowy, who hopes to find a new home for the theater if the building can’t be saved. “It makes it easier to move forward knowing we have all this support.” Continue Reading →

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Modifications to 72 Poplar on CB2 Executive Committee Agenda Tomorrow Evening

Modifications to 72 Poplar on CB2 Executive Committee Agenda Tomorrow Evening

By on January 22, 2012 11:42 pm in Architecture, Brooklyn Heights, Development, Landmark Preservation, Real Estate

The plans of the development company that bought 72 Poplar Street, the former NYPD building (see photo), will be considered at the meeting of the Executive Committee of Community Board 2 tomorrow (Monday, January 23) evening, starting at 6:00, at the Library Learning Center, room 515, of Long Island University, at DeKalb and Hudson Avenues. Continue Reading →

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Update on Cinema: Plans for Site Uncertain; BHA Weighs In

By on January 20, 2012 12:21 pm in Arts and Entertainment, Brooklyn Heights, Development, movies, News

Brooklyn Heights Cinema owner Kenn Lowy tells us he has heard that landlord Tom Caruana and his architect, who have withdrawn their appication for a hearing at the upcoming Landmarks Preservation Commission meeting, are evaluating options for the site. Mr. Lowy also said that the Brooklyn Heights Association has taken a strong stand against demolition of the building that houses the Cinema.

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REBNY Amps Efforts To Quash “Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District” Landmarking

REBNY Amps Efforts To Quash “Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District” Landmarking

By on January 19, 2012 2:33 pm in Architecture, Brooklyn Heights, Development, Downtown Brooklyn, Government, Landmark Preservation

The Real Estate Board of New York is amping its drive to derail the still-tentative landmarking of 21 buildings in downtown Brooklyn, by sending out a mailing to thousands of area residents urging them to bend City Council’s ear against the newly proposed historic district. In addition, on Friday, REBNY sent a letter to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn urging the Council to rethink the decision.

All landmarked districts require final approval from the City Council and mayor within 120 days. The Council vote is slated for Feb. 1, with two hearings scheduled next week. Continue Reading →

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…Meanwhile, New Design for 30 Henry Approved

By on January 18, 2012 11:04 pm in Architecture, Brooklyn Heights, Development, Government, Landmark Preservation

According to Brownstoner, the Landmarks Preservation Commission has approved a new design for the five story residential building to replace the Eagle at 30 Henry Street, at the corner of Middagh. NOTE: the picture on the linked Brownstoner post is of a bank building in Williamsburg, not a rendering of the new 30 Henry design. For an earlier version of the 30 Henry design, see here. There is, as yet, no rendering of the new design available. As we noted earlier, the revisions required by the LPC at its previous hearing were “minor”, so it’s safe to guess that the approved design will not differ greatly from the earlier one.

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Eagle: LPC Hearing on 30 Henry Design Results in Minor Changes

By on January 12, 2012 1:32 am in Architecture, Development, Government, Landmark Preservation

Linda Collins reports on the discussion at Monday’s Landmarks Preservation Commission hearing on the design of the building proposed to replace the old Eagle headquarters at 30 Henry Street, corner of Middagh, which is the first Brooklyn Heights building many people see after taking the exit from the Brooklyn Bridge (see a rendering of the proposed design here).

Brooklyn Daily Eagle: Following what one person described as “an exhilarating” discussion on the value of contextual vs. contemporary architecture in a historic district, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) yesterday asked the design team of a proposed new five-story, five-unit building at 30 Henry St. in Brooklyn Heights to consider making some additional changes. Continue Reading →

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Brooklyn Paper: Brooklyn Heights Cinema Endangered?

By on January 12, 2012 12:09 am in Arts and Entertainment, Brooklyn Heights, Development, Landmark Preservation, movies, News

According to Kate Briquelet’s story, the beloved Brooklyn Heights Cinema, recently rescued and revitalized by BHB Ten honoree Kenn Lowy, may be demolished to make way for (what else?) a five story residential building.

Brooklyn Paper: Next Wednesday, building owner Tom Caruana will present plans for a new structure at 70 Henry St. at Community Board 2’s Landmarks Committee — an early step in gaining city permission to demolish an edifice in the landmarked neighborhood, according to District Manager Rob Perris. Continue Reading →

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The New Reflects the Old

The New Reflects the Old

By on January 8, 2012 6:36 pm in Brooklyn Heights, Development, Photos

Glass on the addition, under construction, to 20 Henry Street, reflects the facade of the building at the northwest corner of Henry and Poplar streets, as seen from the Brooklyn Bridge on January 7.

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Report from Brooklyn Bridge Park Board Meeting

By on December 5, 2011 7:20 pm in brooklyn bridge park, Development, News

Ben Bankson, President of the Willowtown Association, attended this afternoon’s meeting of the Board of Directors of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation, and gives us this report:

Construction of two more sections of Brooklyn Bridge Park on the East River waterfront–a bridge from Squibb Park on Columbia Heights over Furman Street to the park and three playing fields and an adjoining picnic peninsula on Pier 5–is expected to commence in January following authorization of construction contracts for the sections at a meeting of the board of directors of the BBP corporation at noon on Tuesday, December 5, at the park’s newly opened offices on Furman at Joralemon Street. Continue Reading →

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Planned Building at 30 Henry Will Have a Waterfall

By on December 1, 2011 9:46 am in Development, Landmark Preservation, Real Estate

The Brooklyn Eagle reports today on plans by the Fortis Group for the paper’s former headquarters at 30 Henry Street. In its original piece about a proposed condo on there, the paper reported that the new building would be 65 feet high, 15 feet over what is allowed in our landmark district. However, the BHA’s Judy Stanton, who has seen the plans, told BHB last weekthat the proposal was a 50 foot structure. The Eagle’s report today includes a similar statement from Stanton. The proposal was approved by CB2′s Land Use Committee on 11/16 and will be presented to the full board on 12/14.

But what new info did we learn from today’s report? THERE’LL BE A WATERFALL. Continue Reading →

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